A resident of New Delhi was brutally beaten by three policemen at at the Fatehpur Beri Police Station for calling the emergency helpline number 100, informing about a fight in his neighbourhood.
29- year old, Wasim Khan residing in Delhi’s Chhatarpur had called the police on the night of May 17, after a fight broke out in the locality. Soon it took a bad turn and people involved in the brawl started pelting stones at each other and in order to stop the fight many tried to intervene, amidst which Khan called the emergency helpline number 100 to inform about this.
After a while police from Fatehpur Beri came and took control over the situation. Later, on the same night around 11.30 pm the police asked Wasim Khan and five others, (all Muslims) to accompany to the police station to provide their statements as witness.
Soon, after reaching the police station everyone’s phones were seized and Wasim Khan was taken in a separate room where he was thrashed and beaten brutally by Sub-inspector Satender Guliya who hit him with his elbows and kept striking a lathi on his back. The other two, head constable Praveen and constable Jitender kicked him and even held him upside down.
They were even yelling anti muslim slurs, “Bh*****d, ab karega call? Karega call 100 number par? Tum logon ne naak mein dum kar rakha hai, Mullon saalon (S*****-f****r, Will you dare to call the 100 helpline number? You people have created a nuisance, you bloody Muslims)” said khan while talking to The Wire. The police then released everyone around 2.30 am in the morning.
He had no idea that calling an emergency helpline number with a surname of Khan for the first time in his life would land him up in brutal lashing by the police with lathis that would lead to a spinal surgery.
After reaching home with unbearable pain Khan took a painkiller and went to bed but sooner when the pain was not subsiding , he along with his family went to the Indian Spinal Injuries center where they discovered a fracture in khan’s spine after consulting the doctor ,khan was asked for the operation of L3 and L4 vertebrae of spine.
The alleged fracture was confirmed by the reports of CT scan ,MRI and digital skiagram that was accessed by The Wire.
After acknowledging the brutality of the police , Nadeem Khan ,an activist and member of the United against Hate society has come forward and is helping him with the treatment and filing complaint against the Sub – inspector Satender Gulia, head constable Praveen and constable Jitender.
A complaint has been registered against the policemen in the Vasant kunj police station on May 20 after a lot of pleading under the three Sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 331 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession) and 342 and 348 (pertaining to wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint mentioned Khan’s statement that the beating was so brutal that it could have even cost his life.